President Barack Obama spoke with student journalists yesterday, and Pipe Dream got the chance to listen in. On the surface, this was Obama reaching out to listen to students. Underneath, it was a rallying call for young voters to come out in numbers to vote for Democrats this midterm election.

Obama highlighted how he has worked to fix our country’s student loan debt (see Page 1 ‘Obama emphasizes education agenda’), which is now larger than our credit card debt ‘ and is getting bigger by the second (see Page 1 ‘Loan debt surpasses credit bills nationwide’).

An undergraduate degree is more important than ever before ‘ and precisely because of this fact, that degree has become more expensive than it ever has been. Because of the changing nature of the American economy and job market, a college education is increasingly necessary for a middle class lifestyle. With skyrocketing demand for secondary schooling, there is no downward pressure on the cost of tuition.

Schools, especially private colleges and universities, can set tuition as high as they want. Students will pay because they have to. And often ‘ in fact, very often ‘ students are forced to take out loans they are incapable of paying back.

Over $850 billion in national student debt later, it’s time to look at where we stand ‘ and where President Obama’s reform has brought us.

You’ll want to think hard about voting for the people who intend to repeal these measures if you think reforms in higher education (or health care or finance, for that matter) are worth defending. We think they are.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (student loan reorganization was included in the health care bill) was designed to cut cost for the federal government, make the process of public student loans more efficient and, mercifully, make it easier for students to pay back money owed.

For the first two goals, the federal government will completely revamp its student loan policy.

Where before private banks made federally-backed loans to students, the federal government has, as of July 1, eliminated the middle step. Now, all public loans originate with the Feds. Before, when a student defaulted on a loan, the government still (because it backed all loans) had to reimburse the bank. This system was incredibly expensive for the government because it encouraged banks to loan indiscriminately ‘ no matter the student’s ability to pay back the loan, banks still made, well, bank. It was inefficient and fee-driven; the Feds should now be able to operate this giant loan system more smoothly and cheaply.

Over 10 years, the reform is projected to save more than $60 billion, half of which will be directly reinvested into secondary education, through Pell Grants and support for community colleges.

The third thrust of the bill, on student loan repayment, is also a massive shift in the way public student loans are collected, though less so. Students will now repay 10 percent of their discretionary income, as opposed to 15 percent. And the repayment window for loans is now 20 years, down from 25 ‘ and only 10 years for federal employees.

The change in loan repayment structure will not affect most undergrads today. Until July 1, 2014 (when changes in income percentage caps and payment windows on new loans come into effect), students will still pay the same loan, just to the Feds instead of a private bank. Most students at Binghamton University will not enjoy the benefits of this legislation.

But that is not a reason to not support this much needed reform. By our measure, this bill saves money, increases efficiency and, most importantly, helps more people go to college.